London, July 06: It was a day of dual celebration for India at Wimbledon as Leander Paes won the mixed doubles and 16-year-old Sania Mirza created history by clinching the girls' doubles event. The fifth-seeded pair of Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova of the United States cruised to victory in just over an hour, defeating Andy Ram of Israel and Anastassia Rodionova of Russia 6-3 6-3.
Earlier, Sania Mirza became the first ever Indian girl to have won a grand slam title when she triumphed in the girls' doubles event at Wimbledon, partnering Alisa Kleybanova of Russia. Mirza and Kleybanova lost the first set to the pair of Katerina Bohmova of Czech Republic and Michaela Krajicek of the Netherlands before rallying to comfortably take the next two sets for a 2-6 6-3 6-2 victory in the final.
It was after a gap of 51 years that an Indian girl was playing in the final of a grand slam, the last being Rita Dabur who had finished runner-up in singles event in 1952. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was among the first ones to congratulate Sania for her feat.
In a message, Naidu said, "Sania has made the state as well as our country proud with this landmark achievement."
Naidu hoped that she would achieve many more laurels in the future. Bureau Report